Welcome to Nano West

Parents and YPWelcome Information

Everything you need to know to get ready and excited for Contagious Nano Westthis summer.

Scroll down to find out important information, including arrival details, packing list and what to expect on the first day.

Dates:

Contagious Nano Westruns from Saturday 4th August to Friday 10th August 2018.

Where?

Pioneer Centre, Cleobury Mortimer, Kidderminster, DY14 8JG

When do we arrive?

By Car, please aim to arrive from 2.30pm on SATURDAY 4th August. Can we please stress that it is important NOT to arrive earlier than this as rooms will not be available and leaders will not be able to supervise young people before this time. You will find information about the venue, and how to get there, on the Pioneer Website. There are parking spaces on site for those coming by car. Once at the venue, our team will direct you to ‘Registration’.

By Train, If you are travelling by train, we are arranging a ‘shuttle service’ from Kidderminster station departing at 2pm (only for those who have pre-booked), so please make sure your train is due to arrive at Kidderminster before 2pm. Someone from Contagious, with an appropriate notice for identity purposes, will be at the station.

When you arrive, we will register you and you will be introduced to your small group leader (called a ‘SUS’ group). If parents have any questions we are ready to chat with you too. You will be taken by your leader and shown your room and also given a short tour of the centre where we are staying. You will quickly meet other young people and will make some good lasting friendships.

Accommodation:

The young people’s rooms have between 4 and 6 beds each with an en-suite bathroom. We try to accommodate small groups together in two or three rooms; their leader will be in a room nearby. We will do our best to meet your sharing requests, but this is not always possible.All bedding is provided but please bring a towel.There are several common rooms located around the buildings, which we can make into good hangout places for the young people.

We are sharing the site with Contagious West for young people aged 14-19 years. They will be accommodated in a separate blocks and have their own programme and leadership team. We are looking forward to joining together in some activities as part of the Contagious family.

Meal times:

The food is good at the Pioneer Centre, prepared by the Pioneer kitchen team and with a good variety of tasty meals throughout the week. The meal times are 8:20am breakfast, 12.45pm Lunch, and 5.45pm dinner. At mealtime everyone goes and finds a place to sit first before they go and collect their food table by table. We will share the dining room with Contagious West and will eat at similar time as them.

Photos and Publicity:

We are hoping to take some general photos or video during the week that may be used for publicity, uploaded on our website or shared on social media sites. We hope to upload any photos on the public ‘Contagious’ Facebook group, so we encourage everyone to join our group. It is almost impossible to control the use of social media by young people at Contagious. If you have particular concerns about social media, photographs or publicity, please inform the Contagious Team on 01582 855898.

Medical, SEN, Dietary Information Form

All the above information should now have been completed via the online form. If you have not completed this form, please do so immediately or email the admin office. If there is any up to date information or change of circumstances, recent medication or pastoral concerns that were not included on the form, please provide written details to Tamar Pollard at the point of registration when you arrive. If you would like to discuss a medical condition/special needs then please contact the Contagious Team on 01582 855898 before 17th July 2018.

Parents join us on the last day:

We would like to invite all parents to join us on the last day, for a joint feedback meeting followed by a picnic lunch. We really want parents to hear some of the stories and experience a bit of Contagious so please come at 11.00am on Friday 10th August 2018 and bring your own picnic lunch. Parents will have the opportunity to chat with the leaders and meet your new friends.

Contagious will finish immediately after lunch, at 1.00 pm. If there is any chance that you might be delayed in arriving please advise someone from the team (above).For those who have booked it, the shuttle service will provide a return trip Kidderminster train station. Please do not book trains before 2pm on the last day.

Conduct:

I’m sure we will have no issues, but we would like to remind you of the Booking Terms & Conditions that you agreed to when booking online; this will ensure that you are aware of what behaviour is expected during the week.

Packing List and other items you might need

Spending Money: There is a small tuck shop on site and we will also sell books in our bookstall, so you may like to bring some spending money, though this is not essential. Any money you bring will be your own responsibility to look after and manage.

Contagious Exalt: We want to encourage young people to use their talents for God, so we will host an evening called ‘Exalt’ where young people will join together to worship Jesus with their gifts. So if your talent is music, art, drama, comedy, dance, juggling, producing videos, photography, or WHATEVER, you’ll have an opportunity throughout the week to put something together and to rehearse. If you want to bring along your instrument, or camera, or anything else you are very welcome, however, they will remain your responsibility and Contagious can take no responsibility for any loss or damage during the conference.

Suitable Clothes: We have a full programme of activities including sports, messy games, crafts, dancing, creative projects and team challenges. Please bring a range of clothes and footwear for outdoors, indoors, muddy and wet environments or casual clothes for the evenings. We are trusting that the weather will be good for us to be outside for most of the week, but please be prepared for changeable conditions.

Check List:

Bible (New International Version) NOT electronic Bibles on phones etc.

Notepad and pen

Money for tuck/book shop/merchandise

Supply of any medication needed plus any up to date information written down.

Swimming gear (for water games)

Towels

Toiletries sun cream & hat

Pyjamas

Clothes suitable for all weathers!

Exclusively indoor trainers and other outdoor footwear

Any sports equipment, games or musical instrument (at your own risk)

Mobile phone and charger (optional) NOTE: phones and devices will be collected in by leaders each night-time.

NANO Hoodies:

EXCITING NEWS!!!

We now have our 2018 hoodies available to order and pay for online!

To place an order, go to the home page of our website www.contagious.org.ukand select BOOK NANO then click on the conference you have booked. You will see the option LEISUREWEAR FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, which will take you to the booking section of our website where, using your log in details, you will be able to place your order. If you need help placing your order, please click here for a step by step guide.

IF YOU WANT YOUR HOODIE OR T-SHIRT SENT TO YOUR CONFERENCE READY FOR YOUR ARRIVAL, YOU MUST PLACE YOUR ORDER AT LEAST 21 DAYS BEFORE THE DATE OF YOUR CONFERENCE.

We apologise that we have been unable to source T-shirts for Nano at a competitive price, due to a combination of the Nano design and the limitations of the printing processes.

Teaching & Meetings

We teach the Bible in several ways in order to help YP with a variety of learning styles, SUS groups, discussions, question times, talks and enjoyable activities.

SUS groups SUS (Scripture Under Scrutiny) groups are your small groups for the week that meet each morning after breakfast. This is the group of young people you will spend most time with and with who you will make new friends. If you do not know anyone, you will quickly be included in this new group of friends. You will have two or three adult leaders assigned to your SUS group who will care for you, give support and encouragement and teach you great truths from the Bible throughout your week at Contagious.

Meetings We will have two meetings, one in the morning before SUS, and one in the evening. The whole group come together and sit in SUS teams, with leaders nearby to help. The sessions are so full of great stuff including… leader challenges, testimonies, stories, great songs, memory verse songs, answers to tough questions, team games, videos, drama, and great talks. This year we are digging deep into the letter to James, the Punching Preacher!

Activities Programme

We may work hard at understanding the Bible, but there is also plenty of time for breaks and activities. Our afternoon and evening activities divide into three types:

‘All in’ activities – great fun team events where everyone enjoys being together.

Optional activities – where we can choose from 4 or 5 options including sport, craft, Exalt rehearsals or alternative choices. On arrival, you will be given a full list of activities and options in your own programme booklets.

Activity Blitz – On one fun afternoon we use the Centre’s high ropes, abseiling and zip slides; this will be run and supervised by the trained Pioneer centre staff.

Please Pray

Please join the leaders in praying for our time at Contagious this summer:

Thank God for the many young people coming to Contagious from different backgrounds and churches.

Thank God for Contagious and the dedicated leaders who prepare the teaching, organise the activities, and give of their time to care and support the young people.

Please pray for young people who may be feeling anxious about coming to Contagious; pray that they would quickly find their way around, meet great leaders and make new friends.

Please pray for young people as they listen, learn and engage with the teaching this summer; that they would grow in their love of Jesus and mature in their walk with him.

Please pray for the leaders that they would teach the young people well and faithfully, according to the Bible. Give them creative ideas to engage the young people and a love for the young people that comes from Jesus.

Please pray for safety and smooth running of the conference, free from evil attack and blessed by God.

Please pray for the ongoing work of Contagious as they plan future conferences and look for new opportunities to serve young people in our nation.

Please subscribe to our PrayerMate feed where you will get regular prayer requests sent direct to your prayer list.

In the event of an emergency please contact Dudley or Tamar on 07847368663 or 07738914910.